Bombay Stock Exchange
 |
The Bombay Stock Exchange |
The Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (formerly,
The Stock Exchange, Mumbai; popularly called
The Bombay Stock Exchange, or
BSE) is the oldest
stock exchange in
Asia. It is located at
Dalal Street,
Mumbai,
India.
Bombay Stock Exchange was established in
1875. There are around 3,500 Indian companies listed with the stock exchange, and has a significant trading volume. As of July
2005, the
market capitalization of the BSE was about
Rs. 20
trillion (
US $ 466 billion). The
BSE SENSEX (SENSitive indEX), also called the
BSE 30, is a widely used market index in India and
Asia. As of 2005, it is among the 5 biggest stock exchanges in the world in terms of transactions volume. Along with the
NSE, the companies listed on the BSE have a combined
market capitalization of US$ 125.5 billion.
An informal group of 22
stockbrokers began trading under a
banyan tree opposite the
Town Hall of Bombay from the mid-
1850s, each investing a (then) princely amount of
Rupee 1. This banyan tree still stands in the
Horniman Circle Park, Mumbai. The informal group of stockbrokers organized themselves as the
The Native Share and Stockbrokers Association which, in
1875, was formally organized as the
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
In January
1899, the stock exchange moved into the Brokers' Hall after it was inaugrated by
James M Maclean. After the
First World War, the BSE was shifted to an old building near the Town Hall. In
1928, the plot of land on which the
BSE building now stands (at the intersection of Dalal Street,
Bombay Samachar Marg and Hammam Street in downtown Mumbai) was acquired, and a building was constructed and occupied in
1930.
Premchand Roychand was a leading stockbroker of that time, and he assisted in setting out traditions, conventions, and procedures for the trading of stocks at Bombay Stock Exchange and they are still being followed.
Several stock broking firms in Mumbai were family run enterprises, and were named after the heads of the family. The following is the list of some of the initial members of the exchange, and who are still running their respective business.
* D.S. Prabhudas & Company (now known as DSP, and a
joint venture partner with
Merrill Lynch)
* Jamnadas Morarjee (now known as JM)
* Champaklal Devidas (now called
Cifco Finance)
* Brijmohan Laxminarayan
In
1956, the
Government of India recognized the Bombay Stock Exchange as the first stock exchange in the country under the
Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act.
The BSE moved into its current premises - the
Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers - in
1980. The Bombay Stock Exchange followed the familiar outcry system for stock trading up until
1995, when it was replaced by an electronic (
eTrading) system named
BOLT, or the
BSE OnLine Trading system. In
2005, the status of the exchange changed from an
Association of Persons (AoP) to a full fledged
corporation under the
BSE (Corporatization and Demutualization) Scheme, 2005 (and its name was changed to
The Bombay Stock Exchange Limited).
The BSE SENSEX (also known as the
BSE 30) is a value-weighted index composed of 30 scrips, with the base April
1979 = 100. The set of companies which make up the index has been changed only a few times in the last 20 years. These companies account for around one-fifth of the market capitalization of the BSE.
Apart from BSE SENSEX, which is the most popular stock index in India, BSE uses other stock indices as well:
500100
*BSE 500
*BSEPSU
*BSEMIDCAP
*BSESMLCAP
*BSEBANKEX
*
Phiroze Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy*
Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers*
Dalal Street*
Fort (Mumbai)*
Economy of India*
Economy of Mumbai*
Bombay Stock Exchange official web site
*
Emporis on building
